Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Nutritional Physiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011 Mar;14(2):121-31. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283439622.
Dysfunction of the endothelium plays an integral role in atherogenesis. This review summarizes recent findings on the effects of marine [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] and plant [alpha-linolenic acids (ALA)] n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on endothelial function in healthy individuals and in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors or manifest CVD.
We identified 33 intervention trials investigating the effects of n-3 PUFA on fasting and/or postprandial endothelial function. In healthy individuals regular supplementation of EPA/DHA or ALA shows inconsistent results on endothelial function, whereas markers of endothelial function seem to be improved in overweight dyslipidaemic patients and type 2 diabetics. Conflicting results are observed in CVD patients. Reasons for discrepancies between the study results include the health status and age of participants, duration of supplementation, dose and fatty acid composition of the administered n-3 PUFAs as well as methods used to assess endothelial function.
In individuals with CVD risk factors including overweight, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes n-3 PUFAs may improve endothelial function. However, the evidence for a clinical efficacy is not strong enough to make final recommendations with respect to a specific dose and the duration of supplementation.
内皮功能障碍在动脉粥样硬化的发生中起着重要作用。本综述总结了最近关于海洋[二十碳五烯酸（EPA）、二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）]和植物[n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）的α-亚麻酸（ALA）]对健康个体和心血管疾病（CVD）危险因素或表现性 CVD 患者内皮功能的影响的研究结果。
我们确定了 33 项干预试验，研究了 n-3PUFA 对空腹和/或餐后内皮功能的影响。在健康个体中，EPA/DHA 或 ALA 的常规补充对内皮功能的影响不一致，而超重血脂异常患者和 2 型糖尿病患者的内皮功能标志物似乎有所改善。在 CVD 患者中观察到相互矛盾的结果。研究结果之间存在差异的原因包括参与者的健康状况和年龄、补充时间、给予的 n-3PUFA 的剂量和脂肪酸组成以及用于评估内皮功能的方法。
在超重、血脂异常和 2 型糖尿病等 CVD 危险因素的个体中，n-3PUFA 可能改善内皮功能。然而，对于特定剂量和补充持续时间的临床疗效证据还不够强，无法做出最终建议。
